500 Action Verbs to Use on Your Resume Today

Want to make your resume stand out? Use action verbs. They make your resume easier to read, more exciting, and more memorable.

In fact, one study showed that using strong action verbs on your resume can increase your chances of getting an interview by 140%.

To help you write your resume, we’ve compiled a list of 500 action verbs. They’re organized into categories to make it easy to find the perfect words to showcase your unique strengths.

What are action verbs?

Action verbs convey doing, and include words like achieved, designed, and implemented. The best place to use these words is at the beginning of bullet points on your resume.

Your “resume is typically written in an implied first person without pronouns,” says professional resume write Clair Levy. “This means you avoid using ‘I’ and instead start bullet points with action verbs (e.g., ‘Developed marketing strategies’ instead of ‘I developed marketing strategies”).”

If you’re unsure which action verbs to use, our list below offers plenty of options to choose from.

Action verbs for when you managed a project

When you need to highlight your ability to manage, these action verbs will help you convey your leadership and organizational skills effectively.

Action verbs for when you were creative

When you want to showcase your creativity, these action verbs will help you bring your innovative ideas to the forefront.

Action words for when you did office work

When it’s time to highlight your office skills, these action verbs will help you show just how efficient and organized you are.

Action words for when you researched

When you want to showcase your research skills, these action verbs will help you emphasize your analytical and investigative abilities.

Action verbs for when you helped with a project

When you need to highlight your ability to assist, these action verbs will help you show how you made a difference.

Action verbs for when you used technical skills

When it comes to showing off your technical expertise, these action verbs will help you highlight your skills with precision.

Action words for when you used numbers

When you want to showcase your number-crunching skills, these action verbs will help you highlight your analytical abilities.

Action words for when you were the teacher

When you need to highlight your teaching or mentoring experience, these action verbs will help you show how you guided and inspired others.

How to use action verbs on your resume

Power verbs are one of the most important elements of a strong resume, but they can sometimes be tricky to use. Here are five tips for using action verbs on your resume effectively:

1. Avoid commonly used action verbs

While some action verbs pack a punch, others are so familiar to recruiters that their eyes may skim right over them. The top 10 most overused action verbs are: 

Use Jobscan’s resume optimization tool to help you replace generic, overused words with more relevant, targeted keywords.

2. Use numbers to be specific

Action verbs are a prelude to words that describe your accomplishments. You analyzed what? You researched what?

When describing the what of an accomplishment, always try to use numbers. Don’t just list your job duties. Numbers are a great way to be specific. They paint a clear picture of how well you did something. Here are three examples:

Wondering if your resume has enough relevant numbers? Jobscan’s resume optimization tool checks and helps you measure your achievements, making sure you stand out to employers.

3. Be active, not passive

Always try to use active voice on your resume. For example, “The batter hit the ball.” Avoid writing in passive voice. For example, “The ball was hit by the batter.”

One simple way to tell if you are using active voice or passive voice on your resume is to see if your verbs contain one word or two. For example, the verb “was grown” comprises two words, meaning that it is in the passive voice. If it were in the active voice, it would have only one word, “grew.”

You can also easily check to see if your resume is using the passive voice with a free online tool called HemingwayApp. Just paste your resume into the app and it will highlight where you used passive voice. 

4. Try to use industry-specific verbs

It’s important to use language that is specific to your areas of expertise. For example, if you’re applying for a job in the financial industry, using power verbs like “invested,” “audited,” or “calculated” will impress hiring managers and show that you have the relevant skills, experience, and knowledge they are looking for.

5. Tailor your resume to get more job interviews

You must tailor each resume to the job you’re applying to if you want to get interviews. That’s because most companies today used computer software to help them in the hiring process.

This software is called an ATS, or Applicant Tracking System. It’s a database that contains all the resumes a company receives. Hiring managers search through the database by typing in keywords. These keywords are usually hard and soft skills.

Just like websites need to be optimized for Google, your resume needs to be optimized for the ATS.

The way you optimize your resume is by adding specific job-related keywords to it. Where do you find these resume keywords? In the description of the job you’re applying to.

To speed up the process use an online tool like Jobscan’s resume scanner. Paste your resume and the job description into the scanner. You’ll then receive a resume score that tells you how closely your resume matches the job description. The higher the score the more likely you are to get an interview.

Here’s an example of a match report:

In the above example, the keyword “answering phones” is an important requirement for the job but is missing from the applicant’s resume. By adding this keyword, the match score will increase.

Try Jobscan’s resume scanner for free below…

FAQs